Building model kits?
I'm sure we've had a few here who've done it. I just recently finished piecing together a Zoid, and when I was young, did one of the very basic snap-together car models. Now, I just bought a Macross Gerwalk model kit, the kind you have to paint and glue together. Has anyone done one of these and what advice do you give for starters?
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I've only ever done the snap together ones, or maybe some cars that needed simple glue, but I picked up a Valkyria Chronicles model that requires painting (or markers) and gluing and haven't really picked up the supplies to give it a shot.
That was the end of that.
Get yourself a pair of dikes and razor knife to cut the pieces and shave down any burs, rather than just trying to snap/twist the pieces out (you don't want to cause stresses in any other plastic pieces, or the piece you're trying to work with). Be sure to wipe away any excess glue before it dries, and try not to just glob it on.
If you're painting these, I would do as much of the painting as possible prior to assembly (especially if there are pieces inside that you won't be able to access, but see, once put together) so this way you aren't risking getting paint on other parts, or have to fight with running glue.
Past that, just take your time, and enjoy the process. It's not a race, but something to be enjoyed.
If you guys Like Models, Toys and Action figures I share some of my creations on Instagram. check me out at #Gameroomtoys
I actually still have most of the models from when I was a kid. They have been boxed up for years. Recently when I started to clean out the basement, I set all of those boxes aside and made the decision to finally get rid of all that stuff. I hate to throw it away, but that's probably what I will do. I've seen people sell large lots of used model cars on eBay that they sell off for parts. Surprisingly, the stuff seems to sell, but I don't know if I want to take the time to make up a bunch of lots for at best $10 to $20 per lot before fees and of course my time.
When I was younger, I used to love doing them. I built countless cars, trucks, airplanes, ships and even a few super large detailed models. As an adult, I've only done a few which happened during my NASCAR diecast collecting period. I built a few models of the rarer, more expensive diecast that I didn't want to shell out the big bucks for. I guess that was the diecast equivalent to building a repro cart in the video game world.
I actually still have most of the models from when I was a kid. They have been boxed up for years. Recently when I started to clean out the basement, I set all of those boxes aside and made the decision to finally get rid of all that stuff. I hate to throw it away, but that's probably what I will do. I've seen people sell large lots of used model cars on eBay that they sell off for parts. Surprisingly, the stuff seems to sell, but I don't know if I want to take the time to make up a bunch of lots for at best $10 to $20 per lot before fees and of course my time.
I would gladly buy, or even trade my games for those, so long as theyre new and haven't been built yet. I want to get rid of my gaming collection and ask that you look at my list recently posted in the seller's forum to see what I have for trade.
- Take your time. The more care you take into building your model, the better it will look.
- Mask off anything you don't want painted if pieces are being painted more than one color.
- Sand everything before you paint, including seam lines, and then be sure to put a top coat on your finished model so that it can be handled.
- No clue about glue, but there are plenty of glues out there for plastic models.
You can find lot of advice and tutorials for building and painting Gundams/Gunpla that can easily be applied to other model kits, and the r/gunpla subreddit is a fantastic resource for getting ideas, seeing finished kits, and asking questions.This guy's site is pretty comprehensive when it comes to 101s, how-tos, and advice: http://otakurevolution.com/content/laymans-gunpla-guide
As for what I like to build, I love building Gundams. I just finished up Master Grade Astray Red Frame last night, so no pictures of it, but here's a couple I've built recently.
I would gladly buy, or even trade my games for those, so long as theyre new and haven't been built yet. I want to get rid of my gaming collection and ask that you look at my list recently posted in the seller's forum to see what I have for trade.
I would happily trade any of that stuff for video games, but unfortunately, pretty much everything I have is opened and built. What I was talking about before, was people selling large lots of models that have already been built. Some people buy these lots to get used parts, and some people use the cars to make junk yard dioramas. I will double check later tonight to see if I have any new stuff, but I doubt it. I don't want to derail the thread, so if I find anything, I will shoot you a PM. ***EDIT*** whoops. I guess it's your thread, so maybe we aren't derailing it.
Once the kids get a little bigger and I can freak out less about the tiny parts, I hope to get back into it.
paint used to be like 60 to 99 cent(s)ea. and now over a 1.50 ea.
so, im just patient in finding them at whenever i can ... ( usually like 2 to 6 dollars a piece )
I remember the days when any store with a toy department would have an entire isle of models along with the paint, supplies and everything. I used to love walking through the isle and just browsing for what I would build next. And yes, it was much cheaper too.
Michael's still has the huge wall of Revell brand models.
I remember the days when any store with a toy department would have an entire isle of models along with the paint, supplies and everything. I used to love walking through the isle and just browsing for what I would build next. And yes, it was much cheaper too.
Michael's still has the huge wall of Revell brand models.
Hobby Town is the best place I've found to get models of Gundams, cars, military vehicles, and stuff like that. They're national and in almost every state. They carry much better paints, supplies, and models than most other places I've seen. Hobby Lobby has an isle with models of cars, military vehicles, and paint supplies too.
I remember the days when any store with a toy department would have an entire isle of models along with the paint, supplies and everything. I used to love walking through the isle and just browsing for what I would build next. And yes, it was much cheaper too.
Michael's still has the huge wall of Revell brand models.
Hobby Town is the best place I've found to get models of Gundams, cars, military vehicles, and stuff like that. They're national and in almost every state. They carry much better paints, supplies, and models than most other places I've seen. Hobby Lobby has an isle with models of cars, military vehicles, and paint supplies too.
Hobby Town definitely has an enormous selection, for sure.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if the deals you might get on Gundam at Barnes And Noble might be the best, though, since they offer so many deep-discount coupons throughout the year.
I'm not a fan of the paints that Hobby Town currently carries, though, since they seem to lean heavily toward oil-based Testors paints.
Since I came up on miniature painting, I'm much more fond of acrylics, and oil-based paints just don't allow for a lot of the shading and highlight techniques -- at least not as readily as doing those techniques with acrylics.
Good source for brushes, glue (both plastic cements and cyanoacrylates), and other modeling components (plasticard/styrene-sheet, flocking, etc).
Hobby Town is the best place I've found to get models of Gundams, cars, military vehicles, and stuff like that. They're national and in almost every state. They carry much better paints, supplies, and models than most other places I've seen. Hobby Lobby has an isle with models of cars, military vehicles, and paint supplies too.
Hobby Town definitely has an enormous selection, for sure.
I actually wouldn't be surprised if the deals you might get on Gundam at Barnes And Noble might be the best, though, since they offer so many deep-discount coupons throughout the year.
I'm not a fan of the paints that Hobby Town currently carries, though, since they seem to lean heavily toward oil-based Testors paints.
Since I came up on miniature painting, I'm much more fond of acrylics, and oil-based paints just don't allow for a lot of the shading and highlight techniques -- at least not as readily as doing those techniques with acrylics.
Good source for brushes, glue (both plastic cements and cyanoacrylates), and other modeling components (plasticard/styrene-sheet, flocking, etc).
Hobby Town stores are all franchised, so each will have different prices and selection. The model kits I've seen at Barnes and Noble are priced similarly to GameStop, which are usually spot on to 10% markup or so. Nothing outrageous, but not a steal like you'd think. Saldy, all the Barnes and Nobles around me might have five or or so models in stock at a time, and they don't seem to ever put them in the clearance bin. Amazon has consistently had the best prices I've seen on model kits, but most of them ship from Japan.
I can't paint with brushes to save my life, so I mostly use spray paint and spray lacquer. Most people online initally recommend Mr. Hobby and Tamiya products for spray painting Gundams, and the Hobby Towns near me carry those brands. Never dealt with Testors paints, but I can confirm that their nippers and other paint supplies are middling in quality at best.
I can't paint with brushes to save my life, so I mostly use spray paint and spray lacquer. Most people online initally recommend Mr. Hobby and Tamiya products for spray painting Gundams, and the Hobby Towns near me carry those brands. Never dealt with Testors paints, but I can confirm that their nippers and other paint supplies are middling in quality at best.
For spray-based stuff, sure, Hobby Town seems to consistently cover that well, since they lean toward vehicle models (cars/airplanes), where you get into airbrush work (where you would dilute Testors oil based paints with thinner and then spray apply).
Testors individual cans are pretty decent, in my experience -- I've used those on a few model kits over the years, since I never invested in an airbrush for doing large swaths of uniform coverage.
I just really dislike oil based paints when it comes to brush work. The stuff is an absolute mess to clean up.
I don't know anything about the Testors brand hobby supplies, other than paint -- their paints are good quality (if you want oil paints or spray paints) -- but I wouldn't buy hand tools from a paint company, with any other option available to me.
I love using paint markers the most. Just dab the crap out of it on a plate to get the ink-paint out and use toothpicks to get all those precision details.
Dude, I'm the most thriftiest person when it comes to creating things. lol
I've mostly switched over to painting miniatures, since I can paint assemble and paint one tiny mini for days. It's a great value in terms of the entertainment I get out of it. Reaper Bones are my favorite cheapo ones. Kingdom Death are the fancy ones I'm into right now.
I use The Army Painter paints and washes. They are much more economical than Games Workshop and I like the containers better (I've had so many rarely-used GW colors dry up over time). GW sells a bundle of 4 paints and 3 washes for $80, WTF? https://www.games-workshop.com/en-NZ/Metals-Paint-Bundle
Reaper Bones are my favorite cheapo ones.
What is the quality like on those, compared to the precision of their metal?
I've embarked on a very long process to "metal up" Hero Quest, and for certain minis, I was thinking about picking up some of the Reaper Bones versions just to get a cheap one on-hand to test the scale and see it in person before committing to shelling out for pewter.
Reaper Bones are my favorite cheapo ones.
What is the quality like on those, compared to the precision of their metal?
I've embarked on a very long process to "metal up" Hero Quest, and for certain minis, I was thinking about picking up some of the Reaper Bones versions just to get a cheap one on-hand to test the scale and see it in person before committing to shelling out for pewter.
The models themselves are well detailed, but the biggest problem I think is warped extremities. If the model has a long sword or staff, they curl up and bend. They are definitely toss in your bag to play D&D minis and not top shelf showpieces. But damn are they cheap! I love them!
My cheap go-to before these were the official D&D Miniatures game minis and the quality on those was absolutely atrocious. It's nice that I can have any creature I want on-hand cheap without having to substitute out goblins to represent enemies in my games.
My cheap go-to before these were the official D&D Miniatures game minis and the quality on those was absolutely atrocious. It's nice that I can have any creature I want on-hand cheap without having to substitute out goblins to represent enemies in my games.
Yeah... those prepainted minis look horrible, and also would make me feel guilty about the slave labor that was employed to provide the shitty paint job
I completely understand why there is a market for them, though.
My cheap go-to before these were the official D&D Miniatures game minis and the quality on those was absolutely atrocious. It's nice that I can have any creature I want on-hand cheap without having to substitute out goblins to represent enemies in my games.
Yeah... those prepainted minis look horrible, and also would make me feel guilty about the literal slave labor that was employed to provide the shitty paint job
I completely understand why there is a market for them, though.
I was buying D&D minis commons on Troll and Toad for $0.30 a pop. Now the cheapest ones look like they're $2.99. There should be no market for them anymore! Do people still even play the game? If there's a market for defunct minis I have a trunk full of Dreamblade...
Yeah... those prepainted minis look horrible, and also would make me feel guilty about the literal slave labor that was employed to provide the shitty paint job
I completely understand why there is a market for them, though.
Wait, what?
Wait, what?
We're talking about pre-painted plastic miniatures.
That process almost certainly has to be done by hand, because it wouldn't be worth tooling up a robot capable of the feat.
To hit the relatively low price points (i.e. painted plastic minis that are cheaper than unassembled miniatures from other lines), the labor input for the painting has to be very close to zero dollars.
So I wouldn't be surprised, at all, to find out that the people employed to do that painting, in whatever Asian country the factory happens to be in, are probably effectively indentured.
I wouldn't feel as guilty about buying these like I'd feel guilty about buying South Asian seafood -- where ACTUAL slaves are forced onto fishing boats (and killed and thrown overboard at sea when they don't obey) or where ACTUAL slaves are forced to work in horrific conditions in shrimp processing plants.
So I don't mean to cheapen the plight of real slaves with that original comment.
But I don't think it's a stretch that the extremely cheap labor involved in producing prepainted minis would be pretty damn close to slave labor, by western standards.
EDIT: updated my other post to not exaggerate their plight with the inappropriate use of "literal" for dramatic effect -- sorry